Sunday, February 24th was the 80th Annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, as they are affectionately called. 

My thoughts: With the writer’s strike in Hollywood and an overall mediocre selection of films, this year and the past year have been somewhat boring as far as Oscar’s go. I haven’t been excited or captivated by watching this awards’ show since Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was nominated for and won Best Picture (2003). Since then, the film’s selected have been generally unpopular and more depressing or tragic. However, I have not seen most of the films that were nominated this time so my judgement is probably incorrect in some way(s).

Yet there was one moment of this year’s Oscars that I found to be a high point and inspiring:
Two virtually unknown and very humble Irish individuals won for Best Song for their film: Once (2006). 
What they said in their speeches separated them from all of the other award winners and stars that night.
So, congratulations Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova; I hope to see your award-winning film and more to come.

Click here to watch them win the award and hear what they have to say.

It’s great to see Independent Filmmakers succeeding. I have a strong belief in the “next generation” of filmmakers.
I believe they will not only make great & memorable movies, but they will also bring new ideas, vision, and creative expression to world cinema. But who are these gifted people? Whose careers should we watch for? Who has such great potential? Here are my current nominees:

Directors/Filmmakers:
Dan Kerry
Justin Eggert
Hazel Yu
Kira Carpenter
Roderick Lee
Kyle Shepard
Terry Boake
Pojia Tsang
Lila Nam
Zhu Yi-dan
Joy Chen
Zhou Xiang

Actors/Actresses/Performers:
Best Actor: Stanley Tsang
Best Actress: Selena Zhang
Best Supporting Actor: Calvin Bartel
Best Supporting Actress: Lulu Qiu
Honorable Mention: Irene Chiu, Dick Williams, Marcia Yu, Kyounghwa Lee, Jingjing Li
Potential Future Stars: Jimmy Chhiu, Darren Cheng, Wenjia Wang

People in other Creative Fields (who I also believe have talent & will succeed):
Christian Henderson - Video Game Creator/Director
Thomas Chouinard - Music Composer
Selena Zhang - Costume/Fashion Designer
Alvin Pingol - Musician, Filmmaker, & Multi-talented Artist
Zac Krohn - Photographer, Graphic Designer
Daniel York - Music Composer
Park Chae Seyeon - Photographer
Adrian Klocke - Musician/Vocalist
Edward Tzou - Music Producer
Joy Chen - Photographer

“To all of the people listed above, I wish you the best in all of your creative endeavors.
Never let go of your dreams and always remember that there are people who believe in you.
To those I didn’t mention, I hope to see you on the list next year! (And just because you’re not listed here,
doesn’t mean I don’t believe in you. It means I have trouble spellbing your name.) Cheers, folks.”
-Andy (Writer, Director, Supporter of Artists)

Enter a world of imagination…the imagination of a master storyteller.

In truth, this film stems from the imagination of many,
but primarily the original novel author: Daniel Wallace,
the screenwriter who adapted the novel: John August,
& the director who brought it to life on screen: Tim Burton.

If you’ve seen other films by Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare before Christmas, etc.),
you may notice his style in this film. However, I think he ventures into new areas in this film,
probaby because he is not the screenwriter. What results is a unique collaboration
and a film overflowing with old and new interesting ideas.

At the heart of the film, it is a story of father and son.
The previous two films I recommended dealt more with
the relationship of mother and child, and husband and wife.
In this film, we follow the “story” of  a father & husband: Edward Bloom.
His life story is made up of many stories, all of them capable of filling an entire book themselves.
In this way, his life is like our life.
There are over a hundred big and little stories for every human being.
And these stories live on, often longer than we do;
with stories as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Click here to watch the film’s trailer.
And just for fun, click here to watch the Japanese version.

Happy Movie Watching!

Is there any bridge that love cannot cross?

“Ima, Ai Ni Yukimasu” or “Now, I’m Going to See You”
is a Japanese love story about a husband, wife, and their son.
(It is also sometimes translated into English as simply “Be With You.”)

For those incredibly familiar with love stories, it may seem cliche.
(But I assure you it’s not easy to write a completely original love story).
At the very least, this is a beautiful film because of its sincerity.
The acting is subtle (typical of a Japanese film) but reveals a lot.
It may seem like I say this often, but this film has heart,
something most commercial movies these days seem to lack.
The music and cinematography is lush and beautiful,
the main actors show a real chemistry,
and the structure of the story keeps you involved
as you learn more and more about their lives.
It’s a love story that can make you cry and smile at the same time.
Forget The Notebook. Forget Titanic. See this movie.
Happy Valentine’s Day!

Click here to read a plot summary.
Click here to watch a trailer with English Subtitles (it reveals A LOT of the film though).

My Aunt sent me a newspaper review by Saul Austerlitz of a book called, My First Movie: Take Two, edited by Stephen Lowenstein. It’s the sequel to his first My First Movie book. In both books, he compiles interviews of different film directors with different backgrounds and asks them to describe their beginnings in the film industry. They all discuss the process of making their first films, as the title suggests. Here are some quotes from the book and the review which she underlined for me to read:

“The process of making a movie is universally acknowledged to be roughly equivalent on the pain scale with childbirth, with directors tasked with the burden of not only giving birth to but also molding and forming their offspring.”

 ”It’s terrible, making movies. You feel completely lost. But there’s also something intoxicating about being lost. I think it’s a way of making a disturbance in your senses, creating chaos in your head so that something will be born out of it.”

“If you’re ever going to get a film made, you have to be almost a hustler/criminal type of person.”

My Aunt kindly added , “I’m not sure sure about the childbirth analogy, but we get the picture!!
At any rate, I think you’ll enjoy reading about others in your field-and knowing you’re not alone out there!
Good luck with your studies and of course ‘giving birth’ to movies!”

Support from your family is one of the nicest things you can have.
I am grateful for the support of both my family and my friends. 
But today my Thank You is especially towards my family.
Here are two pictures you might enjoy, one from the south of BC close to the US border,
and one from the North of BC in Whistler from my travels.

(Note: This restaurant is not affliated with my family in anyway; there is only a 6 letter similarity to my last name. I have never eaten here, however I have done shopping at their stores. Affordable Canadian pricing. Anyway, it’s a fun sign to me.)

With the support of friends and family, you can climb any mountain!!

-Both pictures taken on 35mm Nikon Film camera by myself.

My Movie Pick for this Week: 

Click here to watch the trailer.
Otherwise, you will have to look elsewhere to…

…learn how to fly.

PS: Happy Lunar New Year Everyone!

新年快樂!  新年快乐!

새해 복 많이 받아 !

“One person can change your life forever.”

This film is one of the most famous & most internationally loved films that I know of. 
Surpisingly, it’s a pretty unique and “weird” film to be so popular.
But the story is heartfelt, innocent, and imaginative.

Amélie tries to enrich the lives of those around her by weaving her special brand of mischievous magic. She befriends a neighbor who’s a shut-in, plays pranks on another neighbor, steals a garden gnome and returns objects she collects to their rightful owners. She romantically daydreams in the café she works at and marvels at life’s ironies. One day she finds a small box containing a child’s mementos and decides to set about finding its rightful owner…will romance blossom for Amélie?*

The other selling points are beautiful music and colorful, extraordinary visuals.
But it’s best to see it first to discover what makes it truly loved by so many.

Click here to watch the English Trailer.

*Summary courtesy of Imdb.com